The art of widening tastes

THE LURE OF THE WEST? Security guards stand at the doors as people take in Jia Aili's Nameless Days 2 during a media preview of Christie's Shanghai Spring Auction in Shanghai. Auction houses like Christies's and Sotheby's know that exposure, education and VIP treatment is the way to go to draw more Chinese collectors to Western art.

PHOTO: REUTERS

SUPPOSE you have a growing pool of ultra-high-net-worth Asian art collectors on the one hand, and a pile of Western art on the other. How do you ensure the two meet for your greatest benefit? This is basically the conundrum facing global auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's in their...